Holder for paper cups



Nov. 1 1949 w. E. AMBERG arm.

HOLDER FOR-PAPER curs Filed July 13, 1946 Patented Nov. 1, 1949HOLDERFOR PAPER CUPS Walter E. Amberg, Beverly Shores, Ind., and BernardF. Alm, Elgin, lll assignors by mesne assignments, to Lily-Tulip. CupCorporation. New York, N. id, as corporationv of Delaware ApplicationJuly 13, 1946, SerialNo. 683,440

3 Claims.

This invention relates to cup holders for paper cups and moreparticularly to cup holders having means for automatically grippin thepaper cup When it is received within the holder.

The principal object of this invention is toprovide an improved grippingmeans. in the. cup holder for automatically gripping a, paper cup whenit is received within the holder. By reason of the improved grippingmeans, the cup holder may be. placed over the top paper cup of aninverted stack of cups for positively grippin the top paper cup to pickit up from. the inverted stack. The improved gripping means also servesto retain the paper cup in the holder in a positive and eficient manner.

In accordance with this invention the improved gripping means maycomprise a resilient annular pickup member made from a resilient plasticmaterial such as Tygon or rubber composition, or other suitableresilient material, and the resilient annular pickup member. resemblinga Washer in appearance may be provided with slits terminating in holes,which together form a plurality of inwardly extending fingers. Uponreception of a conical paper cup in the pickup holder the fingers aredisplaced and the portion of the member immediately beyond the fingersor holes is distorted and stretched by the paper cup for automaticallygripping the paper cup. The fingers and the portion immediately beyondthe fingers form respectively primary and secondary grippers and thefingers prevent the distorted and stretch portion of the secondarygripper of the member from reversingits position and causing accidentalrelease of the cup.

A further object of this invention. is to provide the resilient annularpickup member or Washer with a thickened edge to facilitate securing theresilient washer Within the holder. The thickened edge, in accordancewith one form of this invention, may be provided with a groove forreceiving an internal flange in the holder for the purpose of securingthe resilient washer in the holder. In accordance with another form ofthe invention, the thickened edge off the resilient Washer is adapted tobe received in an internal annular groove in. the holder for securingpurposes. In a further modification the thickened edge of the resilientwasher may be adhesively secured within the holder.

Further objects of this invention reside in the details of constructionof the various forms of.

pick-up holders.

Other objects and. advantages will become apparent to those skilled. inthe. art upon. reference:

2.. to the accompanying speciflcation-,. claims;v and drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational. view. showing a cup holder applied to:aninverted stack of paper P Fig. 2 is an enlargedsectionaltviewthroughone form of the cup holder;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view similar to, Fig; 2' but showing a. paper cup?received. within the: cup holder;

Fig; 41 is a. plan view of the resilient annular pickup member or washerwith the: thickened edge utilizedin Figs. 2 and3;

Fig. 5 is. an enlarged sectional view" through a. portion of thecupholder and through the resilient annular pickup member'orwasherbetween the slits;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but with the section; being; takenalong. the slits;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged" partial sectional view of a modified. form. ofcup holder and resilient annular pickup memb er or washer; and

Fig.1. 8; is a sectional view of still another form of cup. holder andresilient annular-pickup membEIOPWaShBIL.

The cup holder is generallydesignated at Ill and is adapted: to receivea paper cup, such as a conical. paper cup ligand as shown in Fig. I thepaper cups'maybe included in an inverted stack In order to receive apaper cup in the cup holder from. an inverted stack of cups all that-isnecessary is to place the cup holder over the top papercup of theinverted stack and the gripping means in. the cup holder will.automatically grip the top cup'of the inverted stack and retain. thecupwithin: the. holder: this Way when. the holder is removed from thestack, the. top paper cup is removed therewith and is positivelyretained. in the holderz. lfhisprovides a simple means forinsertingpaper cups incup holders.

The cup holder Ifi, as shown in 2 and 3, comprises a. baseportion [Alanda receptacle portion'. !-5. The receptacle portion. I5 is reduced in;diameter: at It. to. be telescopically-received. in the base portion Hi.In this way the base. portion [:4 and receptacle portion. 1 5 aresecured togetherforming a throat therebetween and the securing may bedone either by a; tight fit, by welding as'in the, case-v of metal. cupholders, or may be adhesively secured together as: in. the. case: ofplastic holders. The receptacle portion I51 is also pro.- videdwithaninturned flange if!" for securing im the throat of the holder aresilient annular pickup member or washer 20.

The resilient annular pickup member 20 resembles a washer in appearanceand is preferably made of a suitable resilient plastic material such asTygon, rubber composition or other suitable resilient material and itforms the automatic gripping means for retaining a paper cup within theholder.

The resilient annular pickup member or washer 20 is provided with aninternal opening 2| and a plurality of slits 22 leading therefrom. Theslits terminate in holes 23 in order to provide a plurality of resilientgrippers for the paper cup. The edge of the resilient annular pickupmember or washer 20 is thickened as at 24 to fit against the side wallsof the cup holder and the thickened portion is provided with acircumferential groove 25 for receiving the inturned flange I! of theholder ID. The resilient washer 23 is inserted in the cup holder In withthe thickened edge 24 engaging the side walls of the holder l 0 and withthe circumferential groove 25 receiving the inturned flange I! wherebythe resilient annular pickup member or washer 23 is firmly secured inplace within the holder l0 and it assumes the position shown in Fig. 2.

When a paper cup is received in the receptacle portion I5, the resilientwasher is displaced by the paper cup and is internally forceddownwardly, as shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6. The fingers or portions of theresilient washer between the slits 22, grip the side walls of the papercup and therefore form what may be termed primary grippers. The grippingaction of the primary grippers depends primarily upon the resiliency ofthe displaced fingers between the slits 22. The portion of the resilientwasher immediately beyond the fingers and holes 23 is distorted by thereception of the paper cup and the tendency is to stretch the resilientwasher at that portion. The portion of the resilient washer immediatelbeyond the holes 23 in resisting this stretching tendency, therefore,form what may be termed a secondary gripper for the paper cup. Thefingers prevent the distorted and stretched portion of the member fromreversing its position and accidental release of the cup. The primarygripping action is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 6, while the jointprimary and secondary gripping actions are more clearly illustrated inFig. 5. Because of these gripping actions the paper cup I l ispositively retained within the holder l0 until such time as the papercup is forcefully extracted therefrom.

While the resilient annular pickup member or washer 23 having thecircumferential groove in the thicknened edge thereof is particularlyadaptable for use with a metal cup holder formed of two pieces with oneof the pieces provided with an inturned flange as shown in Figs. 2-6, itmay be utilized with other types of cups such, for example, as plasticcups provided with a molded internal flange.

Fig. 7 shows a modified arrangement for securing a resilient annularpickup member or washer in a one-piece cup formed of plastic or castfrom metal. In Fig. '7 the cup holder is generally shown at IDA andincludes a base portion and a receptacle portion 3i merging at 32 in athroat therebetween. The resilient annular pickup member or washer isdesignated at 33 and the central opening, the slits and holes, may bethe same as those illustrated in Fig. 4 and, therefore, like referencecharacters have been utilized. In

Fig.7, however, the thickened edge 34 of the resilient washer 33 is ofregular configuration and is received in an internal groove 35 formed inthe holder IUA. The resilient washer 33 may be inserted in the holderIDA by deforming it and then allowing the thickened edge 34 thereof toexpand into the internal groove 35, whereupon the resilient washer isfirmly held in place. The gripping operation of the washer 33 of Fig. '7is the same as that of the washer 20 previously ex-- plained and,therefore, a further description at this point is not considerednecessary.

In Fig. 8 the resilient annular pickup member or washer is particularlyadaptable for use in a one-piece cup holder which may be formed of metalby a spinning operation. Here the cup holder is generally designated atIOB and includes an integral base portion 40 and a receptacle portion 4|merging together at 42 in a throat therebetween. The resilient annularpickup member or washer is designated at 43 and includes the samecentral opening slits and holes as shown in Fig. 4. Here, however, thethickened edge 44 of the resilient washer 43 is of such configuration asto fit within the holder adjacent the point of merging of the baseportion and the receptacle portion, and the thickened edge 44 isadhesively secured within the throat of the holder lilB by a suitablecement or glue. A suitable tool may be utilized for accurately locatingthe resilient washer 43 in place in the holder MB. The gripping actionof the arrangement shown in Fig. 8 is substantially the same as thosepreviously described, and, therefore, a further description at thispoint is not considered necessary.

While for purposes of illustration several forms of this invention havebeen disclosed, other forms thereof may become apparent to those skilledin the art upon reference to this disclosure and, therefore, thisinvention is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims andprior art.

We claim as our invention:

1. A pickup holder for paper cups comprising,

' a base portion, a receptacle portion carried by the base portion, aninternal flange in the holder, a resilient annular pickup member havinga thickened edge provided with a groove for receiving the flange tosecure the resilient annular pickup member in the holder, the innerportions of said resilient annular pickup member to be distorted by apaper cup when received in the receptacle portion for automaticallygripping the same.

2. A pickup holder for paper cups comprising, a base portion, areceptacle portion, means for securing together the two portions, one ofthe portions being provided with an internal flange, a resilient annularpickup member having a thickened edge provided with a groove forreceiving the flange to secure the resilient annular pickup member inthe holder, the inner portions of said resilient annular pickup memberto be distorted by a paper cup when received in the receptacle portionfor automatically gripping the same.

3. A substantially hollow pickup holder for preformed conical paper cupscomprising a base portion, a substantially conical cup receptacleportion joining the base portion, the juncture forming a throat betweenthe base and receptacle portions, said receptacle portion receiving andsupporting a preformed conical paper cup with the apexial end of thepaper cup extendin into said throat, an internal flange in said throat,

a resilient annular pickup member located in said throat and having athickened edge provided with a groove for receiving the flange to securethe resilient annular pickup member in the throat, the inner portion ofsaid resilient annular pickup member to be distorted by paper cup whenreceived in the receptacle portion for automatically gripping the same.

WALTER E. AMBERG.

BERNARD F. ALM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 187,766 Merrill Feb. 27, 1877791,097 Jericho May 30, 1905 Number Number Name Date Henckel Jan. 9,1906 White June 27, 1916 Klin Sept. 4, 1917 Curtin Apr. 8, 1924 GreenJune 10, 1930 Gray May 1, 1934 Rubinoff June 8, 1943 Clifiord, Jr Sept.14, 1943 Carew Nov. 2, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great BritainApr. 29, 1903 Great Britain Feb. 22, 1935

